The English football club Manchester City, CSKA Moscow of Russia and St. Etienne of France have qualified for the next round of the UEFA Cup tournament.

Manchester City moved to the top of Group A Thursday after scoring a 2-0 win over Schalke 04 of Germany. Manchester has six points from two matches. Schalke has four points from three games. Manchester next plays French opponent Paris St. Germain, which squandered a two-goal lead to draw Racing Santander of Spain, 2-2, and stay at the bottom of the group.

In Group H, 2005 UEFA Cup champion CSKA Moscow booked a place in the next round when the Russians beat Lech Poznan of Poland, 2-1. St. Etienne progressed to the last 32 teams from Group G with a 1-1 draw at FC Brugge of Belgium.

Seven-time European champion AC Milan came from two goals down to draw Portsmouth of England, 2-2. A win in the Group-E game would have qualified the Italians for the next round.

The winners, runners-up and third-placed team advance to the knockout phase, at which point they are joined by the eight clubs which finish in third place in each of the groups in the UEFA Champions League group stage. The first round concludes with games on December fourth and 17.